2009-09-24 - Helsingborgs Dagblad Interview
Johan Olsson was interviewed on September 24, 2009 for the Swedish newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad. The interview took place during the same day as the band played at the Tivoli, Helsingborg. The main topic discussed were Dead by Aprils rise from a demo band into superstars. The article/interview was written by Magnus Rensheim. Script : The interview was done in Swedish and is therefore translated into English. 'Dead By April wants to reach even more.' Love from the fans and anger from critics. Hard rocking Dead By April evoke emotion. "When we perform for our audience, we do not care what other people think," says guitarist Johan Olsson. It's September, but Dead By April is more alive than ever. During the last six months the puzzle have fallen into place for the Gothenburg band. With a mix of aggressive hard rock and poppy melodies, they have reached great success. "The whole journey from being a demo band to a big Swedish band has been very funny. We got to see everything that we worked for and longed for fall into place", says guitarist Johan Olsson, who grew up in Osby and has only lived in Gothenburg for a few years. Few must have missed that Dead By April's single "Losing You" was heard in the trailer for Robinson on TV4. The exposure gave the quintet a ride. But it should be pointed out that long before that they had attracted a massive interest on Myspace, where they are approaching 1.4 million views. "We got a fanbase quite early and we felt that people were behind us", says Johan Olsson, who blogs about life on the road and like his band colleagues are keen to keep in touch with the fans. Johan Olsson dislike the rock star syndrome. He does not sit on high horses and let the surroundings put him on a pedestal. "I always want to be able to relate to myself. Therefore, it is important to not be put on airs." Otherwise, there is of course good reason for him to feel a little remarkable after a hit single, debut album and several popular shows. Meanwhile, the breakthrough meant that Dead By April endured malarkey from conservative hard rock circles. There are those who believe that the band has sold out. "Some people doest not seem to understand what we are doing. We were considered a cool metal band two years ago when we played the same music and the same songs as today. But when we got a hit and scored a hit album, which was produced by a pop-producer; all of a sudden it was not ok listening to us." "The criticism is linked with ridiculous, superficial ideals", says Johan Olsson. He and the rest of the band just laugh at the accusations that they are sell-outs. "Playing for the masses has been our goal all along. We never lied about that", he says, and points out that Dead By April engage in crossover music, not emo. Tonight the band plays at The Tivoli in Helsingborg. There they can forget the lament. "When we perform for our audience we do not care what other people think. When you get such a response that we get, everything negative is forgotten", says Johan Olsson.